Man claims 1 dead dog

A Polk Township man said he owned one of three dead dogs reported to have recently been found in black plastic trash bags in different locations throughout the Poconos.

Comment

By ANDREW SCOTT

poconorecord.com

By ANDREW SCOTT

Posted Dec. 7, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By ANDREW SCOTT

Posted Dec. 7, 2013 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

A Polk Township man said he owned one of three dead dogs reported to have recently been found in black plastic trash bags in different locations throughout the Poconos.

An unidentified woman told the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe that three dead dogs were found in trash bags that had been removed as of Wednesday, said AWSOM Vice President Jeannie Lee. The woman said all three dogs were found in Chestnuthill Township, one on Merwinsburg Road, another near the Brodheadsville ShopRite and the third on Jonas Road, according to Lee.

"I owned the dog found on Jonas Road," Juan Pichardo of Effort said Friday.

Pichardo bought brother-and-sister akita puppies two years ago. The brother was Tyko. Both dogs wore collars bearing their names, home address and Pichardo's phone number.

Pichardo housed both dogs in his backyard outdoor kennel and had them sleep in his garage at night. One or both dogs sometimes ran off when he let them out of the kennel to feed, walk or play with them.

"I'd go looking for them, but they always came back on their own," Pichardo said.

Tyko ran off Nov. 26, when Pichardo let the dogs out to feed them, and never returned.

"My girlfriend and I went looking for him," he said. "That night, I saw him on a neighbor's property nearby. I tried calling to him to get him to come to me because I didn't want to trespass on that person's property, but he disappeared around the back of the house."

Pichardo contacted AWSOM and gave Tyko's description to post on AWSOM's website. He posted a flyer Monday at the Exxon Unimart gas station on Route 115 in Chestnuthill Township.

A man identifying himself only as "Jim" left Pichardo a voice message Wednesday. Jim said in the message that he and his daughter had been out posting no-trespassing signs on Jonas Road when they came across a dead dog fitting the online description of Pichardo's missing dog.

"He said it looked like the dog had been shot because there was a lot of blood," Pichardo said. "He said the dog was partially wrapped in a towel and plastic trash bag."

When Pichardo called Jim back, Jim said his daughter had seen Pichardo's flyer posted at the gas station and told Pichardo where he could find the dead dog.

Pichardo went to that location, a single-family residential area, found the dog and identified it as Tyko.

"He was on a property where two posts with a metal wire between them mark the driveway entrance and the house is set back from the road," said Pichardo. "He was about 50 to 60 feet from the road. Most of his body was outside of the trash bag and his neck and jaw were wrapped in a towel.

"His collar was gone," he said. "He had a bullet entry wound behind his right front leg and an exit wound on the left side of his neck. I called my brother, who helped load him into my vehicle. I brought (Tyko) home and buried him. I didn't bother calling police or anyone else. I still have the bloody towel and trash bag."

Pichardo saw Friday's Pocono Record story about the three dead dogs being found in trash bags and recognized one of the locations mentioned as the same where Tyko had been found. He saw mention of a suspicious white van being seen in the area of Merwinsburg Road.

"I have a white work van, but it couldn't have been my van this person saw in that area," he said. "If anyone's ever seen my van driving slowly anywhere, it's only been when I'm looking for my dogs on my own road (New York Boulevard, which runs off Burger Hollow Road which in turn intersects Merwinsburg Road nearby)."

AWSOM is advising residents not to let their dogs out unattended.

Anyone with further information about any or all of the dead dogs is asked to contact the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at 866-601-SPCA or state police at 570-646-2271.